🆚 Western Illinois University
📆 Sunday, October 12, 2025
⏰ 3 pm CT
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
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Houston Christian University hits the midway point of the conference slate when it hosts Western Illinois University in a Sunday matinee at Sorrels Field. The Huskies conclude a quick two-game stay at home in a 3 pm match that will serve as the second half of a twin-bill with the women's team, who open the day at 1 pm against UIW.
The Huskies returned to Sorrels Field for the first time in a month on Thursday evening to claim their second consecutive victory, a decisive 3-0 victory over visiting Eastern Illinois University.
In the 20th minute HCU broke the ice. A solid build up down the right side culminated with Herrera finding
Joby Reid for a quick flick to Okerayi. The junior took one touch before firing a left-footed missile from outside the area to the top left shelf, handing the hosts a one-nil lead halfway into the 20th minute.
The advantage would double 10 minutes later.
Ricardo Garcia won a ball outside his own box and made a beautiful pass from just outside the halfway line to Herrera streaking up the right channel. Herrera would then shovel a pass to Reid just outside the 18-yard box. He held off a defender and laced his own left-footed shot to the back of the twine, a second goal for the Huskies that mirrored the opener.
As the clock hit the 81st minute,
Ron Pressler made a strong run down the left flank and was shoved in the back just inside the penalty area, a foul that resulted in a red card and a penalty kick. Okerayi was on point from the spot, knocking home his fourth penalty kick of the season for his second goal of the night that finished off the scoring.
It was the first career brace for Okerayi, upping his team and league-leading goal count to seven on the season. He put three of his four shots on the night on target and had his third game-winner of the year with the opening strike. Reid's third goal of the season was the second tally in his last three while also notching his team-best fourth assist of the season. Herrera registered his first two helpers of the season, his third career game with two assists.
Alex Aitken earned his sixth shutout of the season, making five saves against 13 shots. It was the 18th clean sheet of his career, tying him for the top spot all-time with former keeper and former Head Coach
Benny Agosto.
The win pushes HCU to 7-3-1 overall and pushed the OVC ledger to 2-1-1 in Head Coach
Ryan Pratt's ninth season at the helm and 12th season overall with the program. The Huskies were the only league team to taste victory on Thursday evening, as the other three matches ended up in draws.
Okerayi leads the club with 15 points and seven goals having put 18 of his 28 shots on goal thus far for a .643 SOG%. He is tied for the league lead in goals, leads the conference in points and is one of three Huskies in the top 10 for shots per game alongside Herrera and Reid.
The Huskies have had eight players hit the back of the net this season and have a .472 SOG% as a team.
Joby Reid is second on the club in goals (3) and points (10) and leads the club in assists with four. He ranks tied for fourth in the OVC in assists and is tied for 10th in the league in goals scored.
Ben Thirkill has three assists for the Huskies, while Herrera,
Ron Pressler and
Nico Kross each have a pair. HCU has registered 18 assists on 17 goals thus far on the campaign.
Aitken leads the league with six clean sheets, a 0.82 GAA and a .850% save percentage, while ranking third in total saves with 51. The senior from Great Barford, England continues to climb the career leaderboards at HCU, with his victory over Liberty on Sunday giving him 22 for his career, moving him past Christopher Dodd as the all-time leader since the program was restarted in 2006. He is part of a trio of keepers to amass over 200 saves, as he now the all-time leader with 280.
The Huskies end the quick two-game stay at Sorrels hosting the Leathernecks, a team they have met just three times. The series began in 1985 with a 2-2 draw in Macomb, Illinois, and it took 39 years for the pair of schools to hook up again before they split a pair of matches last year in OVC play.
The Huskies took a 3-0 win in Houston, a game which included the fastest goal in school history by
Ryan Okerayi just one minute into the match. The Leathernecks grabbed a 1-0 victory at home on Xavier Gagnon's goal just shy of five minutes gone in the second half, pushing the all-time series even at 1-1-1.
WIU is led by Dr. Eric Johnson, now in his 29th season at the helm. The Leathernecks are currently 3-8-2 overall and 1-1-2 in OVC play after playing to a scoreless draw at UIW in the battle of reversed initialisms.
Senior forward Liam Gainey paces the Leathernecks offense. He is tied for fifth in the league with five goals on a .636 SOG% and is seventh in the league in shots. Gagnon, a junior forward, has two goals and two assists. Senior keeper Micah Ramirez has started all 13 games in the woodwork and leads the league in saves with 62, an average of 4.77 per game.
HCU will have its final two road matches of the regular season next week when it heads to SIUE and Lindenwood for Thursday/Saturday tilts. The Huskies will then close the regular season slate with three straight on Fondren Road, beginning with a Friday evening match against arch-rival University of the Incarnate Word on October 24. The game with UIW is a rematch of the conference opener, a 1-1 stalemate in San Antonio on September 26.
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